Rotary explosion-engine.



H. W. RHOADS. ROTARY EXPLOSION ENGINE. APPLICATION man JULY2. 1914.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

HWE/VTOR Patented June 6, 1916.

WITNESSES (Z@#% A TTORA/EYS H. W. RHOADS. ROTARY EXPLOSION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZ. 1914. 1,186,332. I

Patented June 6, 1916.,

4 S.HEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOR/VEVS HENRY WILLIAM RHOADS, OF EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY.

ROTARY EXPLOSION-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 6, 1916.

Application filed July 2, 1914. Serial No. 848,643.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HENRY l/V. Rrrosos, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of East Rutherford, in thecounty of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented anew andImproved Rotary Explosion- Engine, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to internal combustion engines and particularlyto what are known as rotary engines, and has for an object to provide animproved construction which will produce high efiiciency and amaximumpower for 'agiven quantity of fuel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotary engine whichmay be used as an internal combustion engine, a pump, a steam engine, orother variety of power motor which uses expansion gases.

A. further object of the invention is to provide an engine with a pairof circular chambers and a rotating plate arranged therebetween, whichplate carries the pistons for the cylinders from which the power istaken when the machine is used as a motor and to which the power issupplied when tion a body is provided which is divided.

into halves. These halves are formed in duplicate and recesses areprovided therebetween which accommodate a disk. Each half of the casingis provided with an annular chamber preferably square in cross sectionfor receiving pistons connected with the dividing wall or disk.Explosive mixture under pressure is ted into cylinders through suitablepipes, said mixture being admitted between a movable abutment and thepistons previous to the time of explosion. In arranging the sparkingdevice and the exhaust, it is designed to place the exhaust as far tronrthe sparking devices as possible; r'or instance, at approximately'330degrees. This allows a large space for the power gases to expand andthereby utilize not only the direct pressure but the expansion oi saidgases.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 view through Fig. 1 approximatelyon the line 55; Fig. 6 is a section through Fig. 1 approximately on theline 6-6; Fig. 7

is an enlarged detail fragmentary sectional .view, through the structureshown in Fig.

1, for disclosing the abutment and how the same coacts with an operatinggroove; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but showing the movable wallor disk carrying the groove in advanced position; Fig. 9 is afragmentary sectional view through Fig. 1 approximately on the line 9-9;Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view through Fig. 8 approximately onthe line 10-10; Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but with the plateremoved; Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of one of the pistons, part of thesame being shown in section to better disclose the construction; Fig. 13is a sectional view through Fig. 12 approximately on the line 1313, apiece of the rotary disk being shown associated therewith; Fig. 14 is adetail perspective view of one of the expanding sleeves in the pistonshown in Fig. 12; and Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the box orexpanding parts of the piston shown in Fig. 12.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numeral, 1 indicates a casingwhich is divided into parts 2 and 5 as shown in Fig. 2, these partsbeing held together by suitable screws or bolts 4. The parts 2 and 3 areprovided with recesses 5 and 6 which provide an annular chamber 7 inwhich the upper part 8 of the movable wall or disk 9 operates. Grooves10 and 11 are provided in the movable wall or disk 9, which groovesmerge into camways 12 and 13 respectively. As shown in 3, the camways 12and 13 cause the abutments 14 and 15 to be raised alternately, and at180 degrees apart. It is also to be noted that the pistons 16 and 17 areconnected with the movable wall or disk 9 opposite the center of thecamways 12 and 13, whereby the abutments are raised immediately beforethe passage of the pistons and are lowered immediately after the passageof the pistons. The movable wall or disk 9 is provided with shortpassageways or grooves 18 and 19 respectively. These grooves control theinlet of the expansive fuel or other motive fluid used in the engine.The supply of motive fluid is connected. up with apertures 20 and 21.,the aperture 20 being in part of section 3 of the casing and theaperture 21 being in part of section 2 of the casing, whereby the waysor grooves 18 and 19 which are on opposite sides of the disk 9 willregister with the respective aper tures 20 and. 21. When the aperture orinlet 21 is registering with the groove 18, combustible mixture willpass from the inlet 21. through the passageway 18 and thence through asuitable notch. 22 into a chamber 23. At the time that the passageway 18registers with the inlet 21, the piston 16 will have moved substantiallyto the position shown in Fig. 8. This will cause the. motive fluid topass in back of the piston and in front of the abutment 14 until thedisk 9 has moved the passageway 18 out of registry with the, aperture21, and the sparking device 24 ignites the motive fluid and therebycauses the motive fluid to give the piston 16 a forward impulse. Afterthe disk or movable wall 9 has moved for half a revolution, the piston17 moves from the position shown in Fig. 11 past the abutment 15 and inthis position the passageway 19 will register with an inlet 21 and witha notch 22 so that combustible mixture may enter in the space betweenthe piston and the abutment. As soon as the piston and plate 9 havemoved sufiiciently to cause the passage way 19 to move out of registrywith the inlet 21', the sparking device 24: will ignite the explosivemixture and thereby give a forward impulse to the piston 16, which impulse is transmitted to the plate 9 and thence to the. power shaft 25;It will be noted that the explosive mixture is forced into the engineunder any desired pressure, which pressure may be varied according tocircumstances.

In forming the parts 2 and 3 of the casing, ways 26 are provided for theabutments 11 and 15 so as to guide the same in an up and down movement.In order that the cam grooves 12 and 13 may properly operate theseabutments, each abutment is provided with a pin 27, which pin preferablycarries an antifriction roller 28 at the -outer end. This antifriction.roller extends into the grooves 12 and 13 and also operates in thegrooves 10 and 11. This provides a smooth easy action and one whichabsolutely insures the raising of the abutment previous to the passageof the piston.

In order that the chambers 23 and 23 may properly exhaust, passageways29 and 30 are arranged on each side of the abutments. See Fig. 5. Thesepassageways open into an exhaust discharge member 31. A valve 32 isprovided with apertures 33 and 3%, whereby the passages 29- and 30 maybe opened and closed whenever desired. The member 31 has pipes 35 and 36connected therewith for directing the exhaust to any desired point. Theouter end of the valve 32 is provided with an aperture 37 for receivinga pin whereby a lever 38 (Fig. 1) may be connected therewith. It is tobe noted that the lever 38 is connected with the slide valve at theopposite side of the engine and pivotally connected at 39 to the casing,so that when one slide valve is open as shown in Fig. 5, the other isclosed. \Vhen the engine is reversed, all that is necessary to do is toreverse theexhaust valves just de scribed and to turn off the supplyfuel by operating the valve 10 and turn on the sup ply fuel by operatingthe valve l1. The valve 40 allows fuel to pass to the inlets 20 and 21while the valve 41 allows fuel to pass through suitable pipes and thenceto the inlets 20 and 20. The sparking devices also should be reversed sothat the spark plugs 42 and 43 may operate the spark plugs 21 and 24.Any suitable mechanism may be provided for causing a reversal of thesparking either independently or in conjunction with a reversing of theexhaust passageways. hen the engine is reversed, the action is similarto that heretofore described except that it takes place on the oppositeside of the abutments.

In connection with the disk or movable wall 9 it is observed that thecasing at point 45 is comparatively narrow so that the friction betweenthe casing and the disk 9 will be reduced to a minimum and at the point45 the contacting portion of the plate and casing is reduced to aminimum by reason of the chamber 7 This allows a tight hearing surfaceand yet permits the disk to 1o tate without undue friction. It isevident that packing rings and other suitableattachments may be providedwithout departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Connected with the disk 9 are pistons 16 and 17 which pistons areidentical in con struction. The detail structure of these pistons isshown in Figs. 12- to 15 inclusive to which reference is now made. Inorder to hold the piston in place a journal member or pin 46 is providedwhich has its head 47 countersunk in the disk 9 and held. in place bysuitable screws 50. The cross section through the piston, as shown inFig. 13, is square so as to properly fit the chambers 23 and 23' whichare square in cross section. If other shaped chambers were provided, thepistons would have to be constructed to conform thereto, but the squarechamber is preferable as the same may be more easily machined out duringthe manufacture of the device. In pistons of all kinds it is necessaryto provide means for causing the pistons to have a tight joint orfitting between the piston and the. cylinder or chamber. Intheordinarily constructed piston, piston rings are used, but in the pistonunder consideration these rings are eliminated and the piston is madeinto several parts, which parts are pressed outwardly by rings 51 whichare divided along. the line and normally spring outwardly or remainopen. This ring or sleeve is compressed when the piston is placed in thechamber and consequentlythe parts of the piston are resiliently urgedagainst the walls of the cyliiuler. Each of the pistons is formed intosections 53, 54, and 56, each of which is provided with ridges or raisedportions 57 having overlapping ends as clearly shown in Fig. 12, wherebya continuous surface is provided so as to allow the sections to separateto a greater or less extent in order to properly fit the chamber. Eachof the sections is provided with walls 58 designed to bear againstrespective sleeves 51. Each end of the piston is provided with aretaining plate 59 held in place by retaining screws (30. The retainingscrews (30 are threaded into sleeves (31, which sleeves have a tubularcenter 2 into which the pin in projects as shown in Fig. 13. As shown inthis figure, the ridges or raised portions 57 act against the plate ordisk 9 and also against the three side walls of the chamber so that noneof the gases or other explosive mixture can pass from one side of thepiston to the. other. These raised portions 57 are especially valuablewhen passing the grooves or notches provided for guiding the abutments,as they guide the piston as it passes from-one side of the abutment tothe other.

In operation the combustible mixture as, for instance, air and gas orvaporizer gasolene, is mixed and compressed in a suitable tank by anydesired means, and then the compressed mixture is allowed to passthrough suitable pipes to the valves 40 and ll. \Vhen the valve 40 isopened, the explosive mixture will pass into inlets 21 and :21 afterwhich it is exploded as heretofore described, and the pistons urgedforward in the direction of arrows shown in Fig. 7. As the piston movesaround and past the exhaust opening 29, the burned products ofcombustion in' the chamber are allowed to escape and, in fact, areforced through said discharge passageway 29 by the next revolution ofthe piston. \Vhen it is desired to reverse the rotation of the machine,the valve 40 is closed and the valve 41 opened, and the lever 38 ismoved so as to close the ports 29 and 30 and open the ports 29. Thiswill cause the gas to be admitted into the chamber between the pistonand abutment when the same are in the position shown in Fig. 3, wherebythe piston will be forced in the reverse direction to the arrow shown inFig. 3. It is evident that compressed air, steam or other expansivegases may be admitted into the chambers as well as an explosive mixturefor operating the pistons. Where air or steam is admitted it is preferable to elongate the inlet ports 21 and 21 and also the ports 20 and 20,so that theair or steam will be admitted for greater length of time inthe place of explosive mixture. It will be evident that other slightchanges and variations may be provided without departing from the spiritof the invention as, for instance, power could be applied to the shaftand the pistons 16 and 17 caused to act as compressing members forcompressing air or for pumping any desired fluid.

Having thus described my invention. I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters latentz 1. In an explosive engine of the character described,a casing, an annular chamber arranged in said casing, a movable wallarranged adjacent said casing, a piston arranged in said. chamber, meansfor connecting said piston with said movable wall, an abutment arrangedin said chamber, said movable wall being provided with an annular grooveextending partially around the wall and then merging into a cam-shapedgroove, means extending from said abutment and projecting into saidgroove so as to be operated by the cam-shaped portion thereof forcausing said abutment to move out of the chamber as the piston passesthe abutment, means for directing an explosive mix ture to said chamberadjacent said abutment, and means for igniting said explosive mixture. i

2. In an explosion engine of the character described, a casing providedwith a plurality of annular chambers, a rotating wall arranged betweensaid chambers, the diame ter of said rotating wall being greater thanthe diameter of said chambers, said rotating wall in its peripheralsection containing lifting camways, a sliding abutment arranged in eachof said chambers and movable toward and from the center of said casing,means extending from each of said abutments and engaging said camwayswhereby, when said rotating wall is operated, the abutments will besuccessively raised, a piston arranged in each of said chambers, meansfor securing said pistons to said rotating wall opposite said camways,means for directing explosive matter into each of said chambers, andsparking devices for igniting said explosive matter.

3. In an explosion engine of the character described, a casing providedwith a pair of annular chambers, a rotating wall arranged between saidchambers, said rotating wall being provided with substantially annulargrooves on each side merging into camways at 180 degrees apart, saidgrooves and camvays being on opposite sides of said wall, a piston foreach of said chambers, means for securing said-pistons to said rotatingwall opposite the respective camways, a pair of abutments arranged inline and projecting into said chambers, means extending from saidabutments and fitting into said respective grooves whereby the abutmentsare raised by said camways successively and at 180 degrees apart, meansfor supplying an explosive mixture to each of said chambers, andsparking devices for igniting said explosive mixture.

i. In an explosion engine of the character described, a 'asing providedwith a pair of annular chambers, a rotating wall arranged between saidchambers, a piston for each of said cylinders connected to said rotatingWall, a pair of abutments arranged in said chambers, a plurality ofmeans for supplying explosive mixture to either side of said abutments,a pair of opposite passageways on each side of said abutments, means forclosing one pair of said opposite passageways while the other is open,means for closing one of said supply passageways while the other remainsopen, and a plurality of pairs of sparking devices, one pair beingarranged on each side of said abutments whereby said pistons may becaused to rotate in either direction accord ing to the adjustment of thevarious parts.

5. In an explosive engine of the character described, a using providedwith a pair of annular chambers, a disk arranged between said chambers,said disk defining a movable wall, said movable wall extending radiallybeyond said chambers, said casing being pro-- vided with an annularpassageway radially beyond said chambers, said wall being formed with anannular groove'pn each side merging into cam sections, an abutment foreach of said chambers, each of said abutments being formed withprojections fitting into said grooves whereby the cam sections of thegrooves will move the abutments in and out of said chambers at certaintimes, a piston secured to said wall in each of said chambers, saidpistons being adapted to pass the abutments immediately after said camsurfaces have moved the same out of said chambers, means for directingexplosive mixture between said abutments and said pistons, and means forigniting said explosive mixture.

6. In an explosive engine of the character described, a casing, anannular chamber arranged in said casing, a movable wall arrangedadjacent said casing, a piston arranged in said chamber, means forconnecting said piston with said movable wall, an abutment arranged insaid chamber, said movable wall being provided with an annular grooveextending partially around the wall and then merging into a pair ofcamshaped grooves connected by a short arc-' shaped groove, meansextending from said abutment and projecting into said groove so as to beoperated by the cam-shaped grooves thereof for causing said abutment tobe moved into said chamber and out of said chamber in timed relationshipto the movement of the piston, means for directing an explosive mixtureto said chamber adjacent said abutment, and means for igniting saidexplosive mixture.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY VILLIAM RHOADS.

Witnesses:

EDWARD HAanIsoN UNnLEs, W. GRAFTON BATEMAN.

